First, decide what image you want to carve. Study the image to decide how you can best reproduce it into a number of different levels.

Step 1: SUPPLIES

First, of course, you need to find a book to carve. Out of date hardback books are best. (I cannot even imagine destroying a book that is actually useful.) The easiest books to carve are those with removable pages. Regular hardback books will work also, but they are a little harder to work with.

You will also need lots of glue. I found that it works best to water down the glue a bit, but not more than a third of the total. Adding water makes the glue easier to spread and obviously increases the amount you have to work with. You will also need a workspace that won't be harmed by the glue. I bought a roll of plastic shelf protector and cut off a piece big enough to protect the table. You can also use a heat gun to speed up the drying of the sections, but be careful. I got a nasty blister from touching a hot heat gun. Nobody wants that!

You will also need an exacto knife and paints.

Step 2: Gluing, Gluing and More Gluing.

The first step is to glue together numerous sections of pages. The number of pages in each bundle will depend on what you plan to do with the project. If you are going to carve a number of layers, you may want to start by gluing together groups of about 15 pages. This will be thick enough to make a good layer, but not too thick to be able to cut with an exacto knife.

you basically want to cover the entire page with a very thin layer of glue. I squeeze a bead of glue around the edge of the page and two strips in the middle. Then I push the glue around the page with my finger. It is important to cover the entire page so that the bundle will hold together when you carve it.

The use a stiff plastic object to squeegee the page from center out to each edge and corner. Try to get rid of big wrinkles, but don't freak out about it. If a lot of glue squeezes out, you have used too much glue.

Repeat this process until you have a glued bundle of 15 pages. Then you can use your heat gun, if you wish, to speed the drying process. Then place the bundle on a flat surface and place a sheet of plastic on it and then a heavy flat object like a cutting board.

Continue making similar bundles and set them in the pile to dry, separated by sheets of plastic.

If you are using a standard hardcover book, simply glue sections of 15 pages together, squeegee the pages together, and place a sheet of plastic in between each bundle. When you finish or take a break, place a heavy object on the book to help it dry as flat as possible.

Step 3: CARVING and PAINTING and FINISHING TOUCHES

Start with the back layers. Use a pencil to lightly sketch the image you want to carve on the back layer. Put a piece of stiff plastic behind that layer and carve the image with an exacto knife.

Then work your way to the front, carving one layer at a time. Remember to move the stiff plastic up a level each time.

Paint the images. I use cheap acrylics from thrift stores and sometimes fingernail polish. Use your imagination.

Lastly, glue the edges of all the layers together. Add any finishing touches. For example, on the girl and cat image, I drilled hoes in several back levels and inserted the "bulbs" of a miniature string of lights. I then mounted the battery box underneath the bottom right edge of the book so that the lights can be turned on and off easily.

I also included one example of a book where I carved out all of the pages, leaving a 3/4 inch frame around each page. I carved some greenery on several layers. Then I created a beach scene using crushed glass, sand, a toothpick pier and shells.

ENJOY!